First off, I should say…and this is not to brag but…I make the best damn stuffing in the world. I got the recipe from my mother who got it from her mother who got it from HER mother who…well, I don’t know where she got it from but it’s good!

For those who attended the Holiday Preview or who ordered the Portable Preview, you got the recipe for a variation of that stuffing: my low-carb cornbread craisin stuffing. The main difference between that and what I take for the fam is that I don’t use craisins and I added some browned, spicy pork sausage.

Due to a food contribution mishap (one of my cousins brought stuffing and arrived before I did to dinner), I ended up with a lot of extra stuffing. La Petite Diva loves the stuff, but it’s not so great on the stats end. Since I knew we were doing leftovers week, I endeavored to figure out how to get more protein bang for my stuffing buck.

Then the other day I was flipping through a magazine and saw a swirl cake. You guys know about my love of rolling things. Well, just then the idea popped into my head: why not make a swirly meatloaf using my stuffing!

And so it is that I came up with the following recipe:

Nik’s “Swirly Stuffed” Barbeque Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:

(This makes a small loaf. I used double everything to make a big loaf with the intention of freezing half)

1 lb. 85/15 or 90/10 lean ground turkey
1 c. textured vegetable protein (if you are going “huh?” click here)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1 egg, beaten
½ c. Italian blend shredded cheese
(in accordance with Jen’s method of binding meatloaf with cheese instead of bread crumbs)
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 c. prepared stuffing, whatever kind you have
1 c. barbecue sauce, divided
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

Mix ground meat and TVP in a bowl. Cover it and walk away for about five minutes. Trust me…walk away! Or better yet, sautee your onions and peppers. Also, set your oven to 350.

Now come back and add your eggs, shredded cheese and soy sauce. Add the onions and peppers and mix well.

Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap with about 4 inches of overhang on each side of the sheet.

Place your meat on the plastic wrap and press it flat until it reaches about ½ inch thickness. Cover “meat sheet” with stuffing mix.

Using the plastic wrap overhang, fold a third of the meat over onto itself. Peel back wrap and roll the meat again until it forms a log that looks like this:

Transfer the log to a baking pan, seam side down and pinch the sides closed.

Brush with barbecue sauce and then cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with the remaining barbecue sauce and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting.

This dish is a winner! Although, using turkey, the swirl isn’t as apparent as I’d like it to be, I can see it. And the stuffing kept everything wonderfully moist. I didn’t add much salt and seasonings to the meat because there was a lot in the stuffing already.

This dish hit a home run with the divas, my Mom, and my stepdad. I probably wouldn’t make it outside Thanksgiving (stuffing is not safe in my house), but it’s a nifty recipe. I would tell you how well it keeps in the fridge…but it’s gone already. Even the extra I made to freeze…

I imagine mashed potatoes would work in place of stuffing if that’s your thing. This year I infused my mashed potatoes with Any Whey unflavored protein and NOBODY knew the difference (seriously…that stuff is like magic…). So with the meat, the TVP and the protein mashed potatoes, that would be a slam dunk of nutrition!

Enjoy!